Intermix shares tumble again as Spitzer files 'Spyware' suit.SHARES of Internet marketer Intermix in·ter·mix tr. & intr.v. in·ter·mixed, in·ter·mix·ing, in·ter·mix·es To mix or become mixed together. [Back-formation from obsolete intermixt, from Latin Media Inc. continued to plummet last week when New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10 1959 ) is an American lawyer, politician and the current Governor of New York. Spitzer was elected governor in the November 2006 election. filed suit against the Los Angeles-based company for peddling alleged "spyware." Intermix shares fell 17.3 percent to $3.97 on April 28, the day the suit was filed. They had already taken a beating earlier in the month, after the company first disclosed Spitzer's interest in its online practices. Since March 4, the price has fallen by 56.8 percent. Spitzer's lawsuit alleges false advertising and deceptive de·cep·tive adj. Deceptive or tending to deceive. de·cep  tive·ness n. business practices, alleging that Intermix's applications redirect re·di·rect tr.v. re·di·rect·ed, re·di·rect·ing, re·di·rects To change the direction or course of. n. A redirect examination. re computer users to unwanted Web sites for advertising purposes and add unwanted toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the items and pop-ups that stall computers and aggravate users. The attorney general's office had been investigating the L.A.-based company for six months. Some of the applications arose from the company's prior incarnation incarnation, the assumption of human form by a god, an idea common in religion. In early times the idea was expressed in the belief that certain living men, often kings or priests, were divine incarnations. as eUniverse Inc., a scandal-ridden company that was de-listed from the Nasdaq in 2003 due to faulty accounting. The current chief executive, Richard Rosenblatt, took over in 2004 and changed the company's name. The company has also been phasing out the objectionable applications and halted downloads in early April. Still, investors weren't assuaged. "After I spoke with the company (about the inquiry), I didn't feel comfortable," said Frank Husic, chief investment officer of San Francisco-based Husic Capital Management. Husic sold all of its more than 85,000 shares in the week following the company's initial announcement. "It didn't feel like a non-event to me." Husic said that while he was impressed by the company's quarterly results, there was something about the way the executives downplayed the inquiry that made him lose confidence in company management. "I just didn't feel the company's response had any credibility," he said. "It was more like 'don't worry, be happy,' and that just didn't sit well with me." Intermix released a statement last week from Vice President and General Counsel Christopher Lipp, reiterating the company's position that it does not promote or condone condone v. 1) to forgive, support, and/or overlook moral or legal failures of another without protest, with the result that it appears that such breaches of moral or legal duties are acceptable. spyware. Lipp insisted that the products involved in Spitzer's investigation are no longer part of the company's business model. But investors like Husic aren't interested in waiting. "As far as I'm concerned, the case is closed," he said. "I'm not going to invest in the company." |
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